Neglected
by RosalieCullen93
Summary: After Rosalie skips school one day she and Esme have a talk about how Rosalie feels about Bella.


I knew something was wrong when my adopted brood of vampire children was heading out for school and one wasn't among them.

"Where's Rosalie?" I asked Emmett.

"I'm not going to school today."  
I turned around. Rosalie had just walked into the living room. I frowned. This had never happened before. Sure, I knew my children weren't happy about going to school, but it was important for them to blend into human society in order to keep our cover.

"Why not? Do you feel sick?"  
Wait; was it possible for a vampire to get sick? Maybe she drank the blood of an animal that had an illness.

"No, I feel great." She said. "I just don't want to go to school today."

"But why not?" I pressed.

She shrugged. "I just don't, alright?"  
Emmett touched my shoulder. I turned around to face him.

"Just let it go, Mom. She needs to be left alone today."

I nodded. Surely he knew his wife better than any of us.

"Fine." I said.

They left. Rosalie went towards her room.

"Rosalie."

She stopped.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk?" I asked.

"I'm sure." She answered.

"It won't be much fun inside all day. Are you going out?" I asked. Perhaps there was some sort of event she was planning on going to.

"Maybe." She replied, before vanishing into the sanctuary of her room. I was utterly puzzled by her behavior. I thought I knew my daughter pretty well. She could be vain, but she could also be deeply emotional. A lot of people didn't know that she could be easily hurt. She kept a wall around herself to keep people from hurting her. It took a great deal to gain her trust. I had gained that trust and Rosalie looked at me as a mother. That's why it upset me that she wasn't willing to share the reason she wasn't going to school. She told me everything. I decided to go out to my garden for a while. I spent several hours pruning my roses. When I walked back in Rosalie still wasn't down from her room. I couldn't resist my curiosity any longer and I walked to her room and knocked on the door.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Can I come in?"  
"If you wish, Mama."

She rarely called me that and only in private, not wanting to reveal her softer side. I stepped into her room. She was packing.

"Are you and Emmett planning on moving?"  
"I don't want to stay in Forks anymore." She said as she stuffed a shirt into a bag.

"Did something happen at school, Rose?"

Rosalie hesitated. "Do you think I'm a bitch?" She whispered, so soft even I could barely hear it.

"Of course I don't." I immediately answered.

"Everyone else does. No one really likes me."  
"Rose, that isn't true." I said placing a hand on her shoulder. I'd seen her in this kind of state before, the darkness that sometimes overwhelmed her. But it hadn't come on her in a long time.

"What happened? You can tell me, you know that."  
She sighed and sat down on the bed. I sat down beside her.

"I overheard some girls. They were…they were talking about me. About how I'm a bitch and how I'm stuck-up and…and maybe I am, but I don't mean to be!" She finally said.

I wrapped my arm around her. "Rosalie, nothing that those girls said is true." I assured her.

"Are you sure about that? So, why doesn't anyone want to be my friend? My own sister acts like she doesn't want to be around me anymore. All because of that stupid girl."

"You mean Bella?"  
She nodded.

"Rosalie, are you jealous of Bella?"  
She shrugged. "She came into our lives, stole Edward's heart and stole my sister. Of course I'm jealous."  
Oh, boy. This was a classic case of sibling rivalry. I had spoken to human mothers who'd told me about their children being jealous when a new child came into the family. That was exactly what was happening here. And lord knows Rosalie could get jealous quickly.

"Rose…" I gently grasped her hand. "You know everyone in this family loves you. Even if Bella joins this family that's not going to change."

"That's not what it feels like." She admitted. "What does Bella have that I didn't? I was supposed to be Edward's mate."  
"I thought you were past that."

"I was, but only because I thought he was gay."  
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I kind of thought Edward was gay too. I still wasn't entirely convinced he wasn't.

"You have Emmett." I reminded her.  
"You know I love my monkey man." She said. "But rejection hurts. And even Alice acts like she prefers hanging out with Bella to hanging out with me."

"Have you asked Alice to hang out with you lately?"  
She seemed hesitant to answer. "No. But only because she's always with Bella!"

"Rosalie, you have to open up to people more. Why don't you go with Alice when she goes to see Bella?"  
Rosalie absently swung her legs back and forth. I pity my children. Imagine being a teenager for all eternity.

"Well, I suppose I could." She said. "But I'd like it if it was just us, like old times."  
"Look, I'll talk to Alice for you."

She smiled for the first time we'd started talking. "Thanks. I guess I'm just feeling a little neglected that's all."  
I remember when Alice and Jasper first joined our coven. Rosalie sulked for a month. I think having been an only child in her human life has something to do with that. Every time someone new joins up she feels like she's not getting enough attention. God forbid someone not pay attention to her because that means someone's paying attention to someone else and she can't have that.

"Rose, do you remember when Alice and Jasper first joined our coven?"  
She nodded.

"How'd you feel about that?"

She thought back. "I wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea."

"Why was that?"  
"Well…I felt like you and Carlisle and Edward were suddenly focused all on them."

I love the girl, but she can be incredibly self-centered a trait that hurts her more than anyone else. "Have you considered it's entirely possible for me and Carlisle to love all of you and even love Bella, if and when she joins us?"  
"Of course I know that."  
"Because you're not acting like you know that. I do love you and so does everyone else. Now, what you need to do is get out of this room and stop pouting."  
"I am not pouting!"  
"Yes you are. You know how, when you were human, your mom sent you to your room for misbehaving?"

"Yes."  
"I'm doing the opposite of that. You're not going to sit here sulking away your eternity." I tugged at her arm. She resisted, but I managed to get her off the bed.

"Come on sweetie, enough sulking. You want someone to spend time with you, I will alright?"

She smiled tolerantly. "Oh, fine Mama. Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere you want." I told her.

She looked at her nails. "I haven't had a manicure done in a while."  
"You know, nor have I."

…

So that day I let my oldest adopted daughter play hooky and we went and got a manicure, then a pedicure. In that sweet way she had when she was sure no one was looking she held my hand as we walked from the salon.  
"Thanks for the talk, Mama."

"Anytime, Rose." I told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead. By the time we got home my other children were already there. Edward was playing at his piano and Jasper and Emmett were wrestling (in the house after I clearly told them not to!).

"Say, where's Alice?" I asked.

"She's searching through her wardrobe." Edward answered me.

"Great." I sidestepped my rambunctious sons and walked up the steps. Alice was, as Edward said, in her room looking through her enormous closet.

"Can we talk, Alice?"  
"Sure." She said, practically skipping from her closet. "What's up?"

"Have you noticed that Rosalie seems a bit down lately?"  
A realization seemed to dawn on her. "I had a vision of her crying on Emmett. I was wondering about that."  
"It's because she's feeling like no one likes her anymore and everyone likes Bella better."  
"She really thinks that?" Alice asked.

I nodded. "Do you think you could ask her to go shopping with you or something?"

"Oh, me and Bella were going shopping tomorrow I could ask her along!"  
"No, not you and Bella. You and her. Just give her a little attention, alright?"  
Finally the dear pixie understood. "I see. I guess I could go on a shopping trip today with her. I can't have enough clothes."

She went off to find her sister. I was pleased to see them a few minutes later walking out the door together, talking happily about some sale at Macy's.


End file.
